U10 A Rugby v Warwick
The first game of the year is always a nervous but exciting one. Blue Coat started aggressively and positively, closing down any space quickly and effectively. In attack, we ran into space extremely well with good support, which meant the ball was kept alive and created gaps in Warwick’s defence. Blue Coat took an early lead and were looking comfortable. Warwick, however, are far from an easy team to beat and brought back the deficit with some strong running and good support play. Blue Coat dug deep and showed true Blue Coat values and gave everything right up until the last minute clinching the game winning try in the last few seconds. This was very much a team effort in which we tackled, rucked, and provided support throughout the game. A great start to the season.
Result: BCS 35-30 Warwick
U10 A & B Hockey.v Warwick
The U10A&B played their first hockey fixture of the season this afternoon. It was a slightly later start than planned, but as soon as we arrived at Warwick Prep school, the girls were ready and raring to go! At first, you could see the BCS girls were a little tentative on the ball, allowing Warwick to take the ball off us time and time again. However, once the girls settled into the game, both U10A&B team demonstrated fighting spirit, chasing the players down and being confident enough to go in for the tackle- well done girls! All players struggled at times with space; being confident to create more space (and consequently passing opportunities) makes a massive difference to the game. When players were confident enough to spread out, there were far more shots at goal, making the game a lot more competitive. Overall, both teams played really well and we are really proud of how the girls represented BCS.
Result: BCS 0-0 Warwick | BCS 0-1 Warwick
Player of the match: Mischa Bailey, Arya Bhala
U10 B, C, D Rugby v Warwick
The U10 sides had their first game on a lovely sunny day at Warwick. What was evident in all three games was the evasion and offloading skills we have been working hard to develop. There were strong performances on all pitches with Alessandro and Rayan starring for the B’s whilst Oli and Arjan both ran well with the ball for the C team. Jack scored a number of tries for the D’s. Plenty to work on moving forward with tackling still in its infancy but this will certainly improve as the children become more confident. Overall I was very pleased with the effort and application shown and it bodes well for the rest of the year.
Result: N/A
U9 Rugby Festival @ The Croft
The U9 Rugby team travelled to The Croft School for a mini festival where they played five fixtures. The fixtures were versus King Henry VIII, Bablake School, Crackley Hall, Warwick School, and hosts The Croft. In their first couple of games the team started tentatively, with a few players running into touch when they had possession of the ball, meaning the ball turned over to the opposition. Despite this, some strong forward running from Samson and Kavidh scored tries for the team. Into the third game versus Warwick, the team put in their strongest performance of the day with some effective tackling, strong forward running, and good offloads in the tackle, particularly from Tom. In the fourth game against Bablake, the team started to work on the advice given throughout the festival to show a more aggressive defensive line and come forward together as a Blue Coat Wall. In the final game of the day we saw the try of the day scored with Roman driving forward, passing to Kavidh who then passed to Tom to score a free-flowing try. Some solid performances and development as the afternoon went on, with Samson being player of the day for some excellent tries but showing vast improvements in his tackling and defensive play.
Result: N/A
Player of the match: Samson Isola
U9 D & E Rugby v Warwick
A feast of fun was had by all against Warwick on Tuesday by the U9’s. As always, Warwick matched up the sides perfectly and all the games were good contests, allowing all players to learn something from the experience. In the D team game there were strong performances from Roux and Aarav whilst in the others we saw some fantastic running from Chris and some good support from Connor and Jack. Watching all games, our running and evasion skills were good, but there were notable tackling performances from Zayden and Esa. All in all a great afternoon of rugby.
Result:
Player of the Match: Esa Ahmed
U9 B & C Rugby v Warwick
It’s always good to test out newly learnt skills, it’s even better when you do well against a tough opponent. Both games demonstrated a good understanding of the game, with flowing rugby throughout. BCS looked very strong in attack, running in space effectively and more importantly running with support players. Our attack was kept moving through effective offloads where possible, but we also demonstrated a great understanding of presenting the ball on the floor. In defence, we looked to tackle low and hold on to the player where possible. Our tackler of the day goes to Hari Godhania who made tackle after tackle. Additionally, our runner with the ball must go to Jacob Cronin who found space from any position. Well done to all involved on a great performance.
Result: N/A
Player of the match: Hari Godhania and Jacob Cronin
U9 C & D Hockey v Eversfield
This Tuesday was the U9 C & D girls first hockey fixture of the term. It was against Eversfield Prep School. We were playing all their children, both boys and girls, that had selected hockey in Year 4. Therefore, there was a mixture of abilities within their two teams. With all children eagerly excited to start, once warmed up we got going, playing 4x 10 minute quarters. This match was all about the children having lots of touches on the ball and having fun! This was certainly achieved, with all the children making lots of progress as the game went on. Two skills that really developed as they played more, was their ability to get into a space and their ability to make powerful passes! With Eversfield having a few strong players within their team, they did manage to score more goals than us. However, today was all about making progress and the BCS girls definitely achieved that. When we kept in our positions and were confident on the ball, we demonstrated some good hockey: we were able to work together to bring the ball down into our attack half. The afternoon finished with hot dogs and cake for after-match tea and an opportunity to make some new friends with the Eversfield players. Well done to all the girls who played, you were a pleasure to take on the fixture!
Result: N/A
Player of the match: Stephanie Airhumwunde and Katie Huang
U9 A Hockey v Wolverhampton Grammar Junior School
The U9 A team had their first game of the season this week against WGJS. Although the weather wasn’t on our side, the girls were excited to get onto the pitch and play some hockey. The WGJS team was a mixture of boys and girls which meant there was a range of abilities. This first game was all about working as a team and enjoying our first game, which the children certainly did. By half time the score was 0-2 to BCS after some hard work from the girls. During the second half after a few changes to positions and the girls continued to put on an excellent performance. However, WGJS did sneak through our defence leading to a goal. The girls didn’t let this get to them and kept on pushing forward, leading to two more goals being scored. Throughout the game it was amazing to see what we had practised in training being put into play. The final score was 4-1 after a great game of hockey. Really well done to all who played, you should be really proud of yourselves.
Result: 4-1
Player of the match: Pippa Shaw and Alice Moody
U9 B Hockey v Wolverhampton Grammar Junior School
The U9 B team had a great first game to the season. The WGJS team consisted of both boys and girls which meant there was a range of abilities. This game allowed the girls to play a range of positions which they might not normally play and have lots of touches on the ball. The team worked hard together, passing and using the space leading to 4 goals in the first half. During the second half there were more changes to positions to allow for lots of different experiences. The team put on an excellent display of attack and defence and were always first to get the ball, putting constant pressure on the opposition. The final score was 8-0. The girls should be really proud of themselves for making such a great start to the season.
Result: 8-0
Player of the match: Summer Wedgbury, Freya White, Lana Saha and Dezhen Chen
U11 Hockey v Kings Hawford
With Kings Hawford bringing all of their year 6 girls with their squad of 10 they could not make a B team. This meant our girls having to be mature about the requests being made of them; with constant changes to try and make the match more even. The BCS squad dominated in every area of the pitch and I was so pleased to see that what we have been working on has been taken on by all players.This meant that even when I switched them into less favourable position they were able to show their knowledge and ability by still over powering and out skilling Hawford. This was a great display of under-11 hockey and one which they should be really proud of.
Result: 11-1
Player of the match: Serena Wadhwa, Tabitha Shaw
U10 & 11 Development Swimming Gala v Norfolk House
BCS Development Squad had their first gala of the year on Thursday 29 September, and for some of the swimmers, it was their first ever gala! Despite some initial nerves, the squad had a fantastic team ethic which was displayed by their constant cheering for their teammates. With a few team absences, several swimmers stepped up for additional races, either as individuals or as part of a relay team. A special well done goes to Malika, who showed exceptionally strong character to race back-to-back multiple times on the day.
Amongst the fantastic performances in the pool, Zoe Dean stood out as a consistently strong swimmer in multiple stroke events, as well as Alessandro who was one of only a few to dive from the blocks to start a 25-meter freestyle swim.
